SEIU 521 Unit
City of Palo Alto Public Hearing, June 2025
SEIU Unit Overview
• Largest bargaining unit representing 55% workers
throughout the city
• Includes electricians, installation/repair people,
water control workers, maintenance workers,
recreation coordinators, administrative associates,
planners, engineers, library workers, customer
service representatives, and park rangers.
• 605.35 FTEs,75.25 vacancies,12.4% vacancy rate
SEIU Vacancies by
Department
Department # Vacancies
Utilities 27
Public Works 17
Planning 8
Community Services 6
Library 5
ASD 4
Police 3
City Council 1
Office of Transportation 1
Source: City of Palo Alto
Data as of May 14, 2025
Department Vacancies
(Unfilled for 1 year or more)
• 26% of vacant positions have been vacant for more
than 1 year
• Of those, 37% in Utilities (10 of 27 vacancies)
• 13% of vacant positions have been vacant for over 2
years
Source: City of Palo Alto Data as of May 14, 2025
4 SEIU Unit
Turnover & Retention
• The median length of employment is 4 years
• Compared to Redwood City, median tenure is
8 years
• 16.5% of employees with less than 1 year
tenure
Source: SEIU data as of June 12, 2025
SEIU Unit
Why employees leave
• Lack of training and career advancement
• Safety issues
• Workload and burnout
SEIU Unit
Why employees stay
• Additional certification pay
• Tuition reimbursement to foster employee upskilling
and growth
• Good work-life balance. Telework and 9/80s
Impact to City of Palo Alto
• Loss of experience and institutional knowledge
• Cost of rehiring
• City spends manager time hiring and training
• City pays for certs then employees leave
• Reliance on contracting out work that could be done by City Employees
• More expensive to city, lower quality, short term, unsustainable • Poor morale from employee churn
Financial health
• General Fund:
• $106 million fund balance
• 50% unassigned
• Fund balance increased 73% over past 5 years
• Enterprise Fund
• $882.5 million net position
• Net position increased 13% over past 5 years
Source: City of Palo Alto ACFRs, 2019-2024
What the city can do
• Continue to fund city services
o Fill vacant positions
o NO hiring freeze
o NO vacation freeze
o NO layoffs
• Improve and enhance paths to promotion
• Expedite job postings for priority divisions
• Conduct an employee feedback survey